VivaLasViejas ASN, RN

LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych

Once a nurse, always a nurse!

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide

All Content by VivaLasViejas

  1. VivaLasViejas

    Sometimes, it just Stinks

    VivaLasViejas replied to Joe V's topic in General Nursing

    GI bleed. For me that's the worst. I can handle C.diff poop, vomit, infected wounds etc. with ease, but I can't get the smell of GI bleed out of my nose for days after being exposed to it.
  2. VivaLasViejas

    Students (and others) using staff parking

    VivaLasViejas replied to psu_213's topic in General Nursing

    I remember being a student at a teaching hospital, where we parked somewhere out in the south 40 because that's where the students parked. Staff had their own parking garage and we were not to use it....
  3. VivaLasViejas

    Disillusioned

    VivaLasViejas replied to b-nurse's topic in Psychiatric

    From a patient's perspective: A good psych nurse is worth her/his weight in gold. When I was hospitalized a few years ago, I had one nurse who sat down with me and talked about depression with...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Dangers of teaching kids they can be boys or girls

    VivaLasViejas replied to nursingaround1's topic in General Nursing

    Wow---four pages of this thread, and no one's lost their mind yet. Just goes to prove that nurses don't ALWAYS eat their young, or in this case controversial posters. Carry
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Now that they approved my reinstatement don't know if I want it

    VivaLasViejas replied to 5150RNKAT's topic in Retired Nurses

    I hear you, loud and clear. I went through a lot of the same stuff when I was fired from my last job four years ago...kept applying for jobs that I could do with a nursing license only to be told I...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    Hospitals Firing Seasoned Nurses: Nurses FIGHT Back!

    VivaLasViejas replied to allnurses's topic in General Nursing

    I saw on the news last night that there is an impending nurse shortage and that hospitals are offering "five-figure sign-on bonuses" and cushy benefits to RNs. If it weren't such BS I would have...
  7. VivaLasViejas

    Who cleans the poo?

    VivaLasViejas replied to leilo0's topic in General Nursing

    In my experience, it's usually "if you find it, you own it". In other words, if a patient makes a mess it's up to nursing to clean them up and housekeeping comes in after to disinfect the area. It...
  8. VivaLasViejas

    Meyers Brigg, Have you done it?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Alexx_xox's topic in General Nursing

    I always come out an ENTJ. I worked in several different areas of
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Hospice care

    VivaLasViejas replied to Liz1968's topic in General Nursing

    The same thing happened with my husband, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2016. He'd been going steadily downhill for a couple of weeks, and then the day before he passed he ate just about everything...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    How to NOT impress the DON!

    VivaLasViejas replied to Cricket183's topic in General Nursing

    You are a lady after my own heart. If you can't laugh at the absurdity, you'll cry, and who wants that? I love your
  11. VivaLasViejas

    Help i need to interview 2 nurses for class

    VivaLasViejas replied to melissa102283's topic in Nursing Student Assistance

    I might add that you need to have 15 posts before you can use the PM function. You can receive PMs though. However, I agree with the previous posters; the intention of such assignments is for the...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    SNF job from HELL

    VivaLasViejas replied to Glycerine82's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Phew! And I thought *I* had the nursing home job from hell. Which I did...it was my first job after graduation, and I found out right away that this innocent-looking little facility was toxic as hell....
  13. VivaLasViejas

    I Quit Nursing.

    VivaLasViejas replied to bluegeegoo2's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Your story is heartbreaking. But I totally understand it, and I feel the same way. Even if I were someday able to work, I wouldn't go back to nursing. Not only can I not handle the stress of it, the...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    Advise for new CNA

    VivaLasViejas replied to Mommyx01's topic in General Nursing

    I was a CNA and worked in a hospital before I became an RN. I was mostly in med/surg but I also worked mother/baby and even as a tech in the Critical Care Unit. It was so much better than long-term...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    Funding for nursing school

    VivaLasViejas replied to Kooper48's topic in General Students

    Scholarships. Yes, you'll have to write a lot of essays, which is one reason many students don't apply, but it's well worth it. I wish I'd been more aggressive about pursuing scholarships because I...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Would you have gone to nursing school....

    VivaLasViejas replied to RockinNurse2018's topic in General Nursing

    If I'd known my career would crash and burn the way it did, I might not have gone into nursing in the first place. But in a way I'm glad I didn't know, because I had some awesome experiences and wish...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    Dx of Bipolar

    VivaLasViejas replied to nurse_girlie's topic in Nurses Recovery

    Bad news: once you've been diagnosed with a psychiatric illness, that diagnosis usually stays with you for good. "History of bipolar" means you had symptoms at one point in time (or more), and even...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    Near Crippling PMS

    VivaLasViejas replied to nikegirl09's topic in Health, Stress Management

    Most of us do hate being patients, but there are times when it's very necessary. You simply MUST speak with a doctor or women's healthcare practitioner about your condition. Call today and make an...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Running a dementia unit

    VivaLasViejas replied to tclark8748's topic in General Nursing

    Not really. The locked unit was sort of a dirty secret at that assisted living facility---everybody knew it was there, but they ignored it as much as possible. I didn't last long there, only a couple...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    CNA experience

    VivaLasViejas replied to Beldar_the_Cenobite's topic in General Nursing

    CNAs are most often utilized in long-term care, but they also have a place in home health and hospice as well as hospitals. Some work in freestanding surgery centers as techs. Others become resident...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    The ridiculousness of LTC/SNF

    VivaLasViejas replied to YUKONrn's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    I used to be the admissions nurse for a SNF (*not* LTACH) where a few of the patients discharged to us were in such poor condition, I had to stop the medical transport team right at the front door and...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    Running a dementia unit

    VivaLasViejas replied to tclark8748's topic in General Nursing

    They must have never done it. Otherwise they'd know why it's so hard to manage a dementia unit (and I've done it, so I have a pretty good
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Seasoned Nurses VS Newbie Nurses

    VivaLasViejas replied to Alexx_xox's topic in General Nursing

    I don't see people hating on the OP. We get probably a hundred threads on this same topic every year, and some of us get a little cranky when we see another seasoned vs. new nurse debate. Especially...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Nursing nightmares.

    VivaLasViejas replied to Been there,done that's topic in General Nursing

    I've been out of nursing for several years, and out of med/surg nursing for far longer, but I keep having the same recurring dream that there's that one patient I didn't know I had and I ignore him...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    Funniest Nursing Situation

    VivaLasViejas replied to Neats's topic in General Nursing

    A co-worker and I got the giggles one hot August full-moon night and couldn't help ourselves. We went in to change one patient, trying desperately to keep quiet, until I turned around and knocked a...